[Villages PL]

Originally Posted by Gerald

For some people the only rights you can have are the ones they think are ok. LOL.
There is always some group or person who thinks they have all the answers. Just take peoples rights away. Yea . I believe there were wars because of that same issue.
Guess who always wins. Taking peoples rights away is wrong.

Something is missing here because you are only looking at certain limited rights and not the rights of all. There's more than one side of this equation. There's the consumer and there's the taxpayer (in New York City). And there is Blumeberg and the city health department trying to save the city from sinking into fiscal oblivion because of all the free healthcare related to obesity.

[skyc6]

And we are off to the races again!

[Uptown Girl]

I'm done.

[ilovetv]

Originally Posted by Villages PL

Something is missing here because you are only looking at certain limited rights and not the rights of all. There's more than one side of this equation. There's the consumer and there's the taxpayer (in New York City). And there is Blumeberg and the city health department trying to save the city from sinking into fiscal oblivion because of all the free healthcare related to obesity.

"All the free healthcare related to obesity"??? Really?

How about all the free healthcare taxpayers pay for related to acute and chronic diseases due to.....SMOKING cigarettes and cigars....smoking pot (which is being legalized in various states).....alcoholism.....sedentary, couch-potato lifestyle because getting up and going to work and burning some calories--by being too busy to fix food and eat constantly--is an unknown concept in the household?????

Government is enabling all these things to go unchecked, and I'm not so sure the liquor and cigarette taxes actually go directly toward the care of alcoholics and COPDer/emphysema/lung-cancer patients.

Of course obesity is costly, but so are all the above and other contributing factors. What good does it do to limit the size of sugary sodas from the fountain (while you can purchase 4-5 20-oz bottles to carry and consume in the next 3 hours before a big fat-loaded carbo-holic dinner), while the sale of CIGARETTES, cigars, alcohol, and pot are seen as okay and legal or about to be legal as pot is???

[Cisco Kid]

I said stop right there !

[CFrance]

Originally Posted by Cisco Kid

I said stop right there !

Actually, it should be "They came for the trans-fat and I said nothing."

However... NYC's fat ban paying off - CNN.com

There's two sides, and I don't know which one I'm on.

[allus70]

Cola
12 oz (355 ml) Can
Sugars, total: 39g
Calories, total: 140
Calories from sugar: 140*
20 oz (590 ml) Bottle
Sugars, total: 65g
Calories, total: 240
Calories from sugar: 240
1 Liter (34 oz) Bottle
Sugars, total: 108g
Calories, total: 400
Calories from sugar: 400

Approximate calories
Pound/fat 3,500 or the equivalent contained in about 8 1 liter bottles of cola

Exercise required to burn 1 pound of fat...about 7 hours of high impact aerobics for a man weighing 160 pounds.

[rubicon]

Well I believe that Bloomberg is on to something. i don't like the idea of people having more money than me. so what I am going to push for equal distribution of all monies so that everyone of us has enough to fly to Bermuda on the weekend.

Actually, I think it is really shortsighted to believe that the cause for someone being obsese is concentrated on a big gulp.

I guess some folks who believe that another person, organization government can have the right to dictate to them means that the reasons for living in america was somehow lost on them. for me give me liberty or give me death "" down with bloombergers once and for all

And by the way when Bloomberg manision on the water sinks in the sea all homeowners will foot the bill to have it paid for nd subsidze it for insurance

What in the world has happen to the true individuals. John Waynewhere are you when you are needed As my hero Popeye says "I can't stands no more.

[Cisco Kid]

Let add a bum tax to the one percenters the buy over sized properties in TV.
Then we can subsidies me.
Take from the rich and give to me.
Pay you fair share to me.
Works for me.

[CFrance]

Okay, here's my dilemma. I don't think it's right that Bloomberg can dictate to the people of NYC what they can or cannot eat (trans fat) or drink (sugar).

On the other hand, I do believe in the law regarding the use of seat belts because I don't want to pay, through higher insurance bills, for the longterm care of those who are thrown through a windshield or out of the car and survive, only to be severely incapacitated.

I don't know the answer.

[TomOB]

Villagerjack and anyone interested should read this article.

Soda Statistics: How Those Empty Calories Add Up - ABC News

That wasn't hard to find. The response is "If you consume two of those drinks every day ... you'll gain a pound every week from them. And if you just think about that over the course of a year, that's 52 extra pounds that you could put on your body. And that is really dangerous for anybody."

[Barefoot]

Originally Posted by ilovetv

"All the free healthcare related to obesity"??? Really?

How about all the free healthcare taxpayers pay for related to acute and chronic diseases due to.....SMOKING cigarettes and cigars....smoking pot (which is being legalized in various states).....alcoholism.....sedentary, couch-potato lifestyle because getting up and going to work and burning some calories--by being too busy to fix food and eat constantly--is an unknown concept in the household?????

Government is enabling all these things to go unchecked, and I'm not so sure the liquor and cigarette taxes actually go directly toward the care of alcoholics and COPDer/emphysema/lung-cancer patients.

Of course obesity is costly, but so are all the above and other contributing factors. What good does it do to limit the size of sugary sodas from the fountain (while you can purchase 4-5 20-oz bottles to carry and consume in the next 3 hours before a big fat-loaded carbo-holic dinner), while the sale of CIGARETTES, cigars, alcohol, and pot are seen as okay and legal or about to be legal as pot is???

This post makes a lot of sense to me. I think it's wrong to micro-manage what people eat. It's a slippery slope.

[Mack184]

Originally Posted by CFrance

Okay, here's my dilemma. I don't think it's right that Bloomberg can dictate to the people of NYC what they can or cannot eat (trans fat) or drink (sugar).

On the other hand, I do believe in the law regarding the use of seat belts because I don't want to pay, through higher insurance bills, for the longterm care of those who are thrown through a windshield or out of the car and survive, only to be severely incapacitated.

I don't know the answer.

The seatbelt theme is interesting. I think only one or two states don't have seatbelt laws. The theme is that seatbelts save lives. (I've never worn one) However how many states that REQUIRE you to wear a seatbelt lest you be ticketed by your friendly neighbrhood policeman say it's perfectly OK for motorcyclists to ride out on the highway without wearing a brain bucket?

Choice & personal responsibility. Our nation was founded on it.

[Suzi]

I agree with all the personal freedoms we, as Americas, enjoy. Don't wear a helmut - no problem. Don't wear a seatbelt - no problem. Eat fatty, sugar-laced food and develop obesity-related diabetes - OK. All of these freedoms are GREAT but they come at a cost. Each American has inalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. As a country, we have decided that no one goes hungry- that they should have shelter and they need to be cared for if ill. The best we can hope for at this juncture of what everyone is entitiled to are limits on how MUCH.
I suggest a "standard" by which people can "purchase" the lifestyle they choose to follow.
I am NOT an math or a financial expert but lets just use round numbers. Lets say each American is entitled to $10,000 of health care IN AN ACCOUNT every year. If you did not use it this year, it would roll over to next year. Any amount over that account balance would be paid by each individual. Therefore, you could make a lifestyle choice based on your account balance. This, however, would require that people save for unexpected medical expenses or go without care. The choice would be up to the individual. The use of $10,000 is arbitrary and could be $100,000 but the point is still the same. If you went to the emergency room versus your private doctor the difference would be paid out of your account. No judgements by anyone on how you should live your life or spend your account. If you "saved" your account for many, many years - the end-of-life expenses could be covered easily or with little cost to you.
The same goes for many of the current entitlements that Americans currently enjoy. Accounts for food, shelter, insurance, etc.
I believe EVERYONE has the right to live their life the way they choose. But I also believe in self responsibility. If you have a job, then you have more money to personally spend on the things in life. If you have no job, you have those accounts that you can do as you choose. The caveat here is that unless you have money stashed away - you will not GET MORE THAN EVERYONE ELSE - so plan your life accordingly.

We used to be self-determining people...we need to get back to our roots. This is an idea of how to do that.

[ilovetv]

Suzi: Bravo for the health savings account concept!!

"...The new flexible spending account limits will eventually make it much more attractive to contribute to a health savings account, if you have a choice between the two (you generally can’t contribute to both in the same year). Like an FSA, an HSA lets you set aside pretax money that you can use tax-free for medical expenses. But you won’t lose the money in an HSA if you don’t use it by the end of the year. Instead, money in the account can grow tax-deferred for future expenses, and you can keep the account even if you switch jobs.

You must have a high-deductible health-insurance policy -- either through your employer or purchased on your own -- to qualify to make contributions to an HSA.....

Read more at Kiplinger - Interstitial